Highest score by a captain in ODI cricket

Who has the record for making the highest score by a captain in ODI cricket? We have had some fantastic leaders in the game who have also been terrific batsmen. Some of the knocks from the captains have been so inspirational that they are being spoken about even now. Below is the top 5 list and it comes as no suprise that three of them are Indians since they are always known for making these big scores.

Sehwag celebrates his double hundred

Player	Runs	Balls faced	Opposition
Virender Sehwag (IND)	219	149	West Indies
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL)	189	161	India
Sachin Tendulkar (IND)	186*	150	New Zealand
Sir Viv Richards (WI)	181	125	Sri Lanka
Kapil Dev (IND)	175	138	Zimbabwe

 

1. Virender Sehwag (219)

Virender Sehwag is the surprise name on top. He has been a vice captain for the Indian for a very long time, but had not captained the side much. But this was one of those rare occasions where he not only had a chance to lead the team, but to lead by making a huge statement. His double hundred against the windies, is not only the highest ever score in ODI cricket, but also the highest by a captain.

2. Sanath Jayasuriya (189)

Jayasuirya was one of the best captains Sri Lanka had and we all know how much he loves the Indian bowling attack. He scored his second 150 plus score against the Indians in this particular game, and this time went deep in to the innings and scored 189 off 161 balls before finally getting stumped. The fact that he made 189 out of 299 runs shows the kind of dominance he had.

?3. Sachin Tendulkar (186*)

Sachin’s captaincy record might not be impressive, but this knock was made during that stint indeed. He put on a world record 331 run partnership alongside Rahul Dravid and carried his bat till the end finishing on an unbeaten 186. For a very long time, it was his highest score until he made the first ever double hundred eleven years later.

?4. Sir Viv Richards (181)

181 runs from 125 balls with a terrific strike rate of 144 and an innings that had seven sixes. Sir Viv Richards simply dismantled the Sri Lankans on that day during the 1987 world cup as he had done to many teams in his glorius career. The windies won the game by a whooping 191 runs.

?5. Kapil Dev (17?5*)

Perhaps the greatest knock played by a captain? Unfortunately since the BBC was on strike that day, nobody has the video of that epic knock from India’s world cup winning captain Kapil Dev. India were reeling at 17 for 5, and from there, he went on to score a 175 not out and in the end, India won the match by 31 runs and also went on to win their first world title.